More than 70 Saudi academics, headed by Sheikh Dr. Nasser al-Omar, have forwarded a letter to Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, demanding reforms, including the firing of "opportunists" and corrupt officials, putting an end to public money wasting and placing government contracts and transactions under public supervision.

They also called in the letter released Tuesday, to "eliminate the injustice and the oppression of all the detainees, who did commit a criminal offense or breached security. The letter also demands to rehabilitate the detainees' families, and "take urgent action to mitigate the effects of unemployment among young people."

The signatories also called in their statement "to provide adequate support to individuals and families living below the poverty line." In addition, they advocated in their statement to open the doors for free print media, radio and television.